hello, I just started beekeeping and I'm loving it. I live in central pennsylvania and I put in 2 packages in hives in my front yard a week and a half ago. So far I can't believe how much syrup the bees are taking but the weather has been great save for today.
I am so glad I didn't start with just one; the colonies are behaving quite differently. Hive #1 installed easily and is doing everything like the books say.
Hive #2 however was more rowdy to install and it's like a burr comb party. Plus they decided to start out on the very outside frame. I had to remove a tidal wave of burr comb twice and on my last visit I decided to take drastic measures and shift the frames toward the middle and put 2 empty ones on the end. I also had to scrape burr comb off the side of the hive body. I should have smeared the burr comb on the foundation but I am new to this and not thinking that far ahead I did let most of it fall to the SBB for them to clean up as they please.
Everything is going well otherwise, but I have noticed that the hive that is behaving more "normally" is now taking more syrup than the other. I assume that this is because I haven't had to bother them other than giving them fresh syrup every few days. The other hive is taking syrup but only 2/3rds as much as the other. I feed in gallon quail waters within empty supers and crumpled newspaper to fill up the extra space. I have gone through over 15 lbs of sugar in 10 days!
Planning to start a TBH at my house and 2 more Langs on a friends roof (bear history... flat roof) in early may. I'm sure I'll need lots of advice about that
Anyway, nice to be part of beesource!
Kate
I am so glad I didn't start with just one; the colonies are behaving quite differently. Hive #1 installed easily and is doing everything like the books say.
Hive #2 however was more rowdy to install and it's like a burr comb party. Plus they decided to start out on the very outside frame. I had to remove a tidal wave of burr comb twice and on my last visit I decided to take drastic measures and shift the frames toward the middle and put 2 empty ones on the end. I also had to scrape burr comb off the side of the hive body. I should have smeared the burr comb on the foundation but I am new to this and not thinking that far ahead I did let most of it fall to the SBB for them to clean up as they please.
Everything is going well otherwise, but I have noticed that the hive that is behaving more "normally" is now taking more syrup than the other. I assume that this is because I haven't had to bother them other than giving them fresh syrup every few days. The other hive is taking syrup but only 2/3rds as much as the other. I feed in gallon quail waters within empty supers and crumpled newspaper to fill up the extra space. I have gone through over 15 lbs of sugar in 10 days!
Planning to start a TBH at my house and 2 more Langs on a friends roof (bear history... flat roof) in early may. I'm sure I'll need lots of advice about that
Anyway, nice to be part of beesource!
Kate